Twice-a-day Milking.

Putaruru Press, Volume VI, Issue 256, 4 October 1928, Page 7

Twice-a-day Milking.

BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE. Friesian Cow’s Record. The old bogey that Friesian cows have to be milked three or more times a day in order to put up high records is certainly dispelled by the recent performance of Nepean Isolda Johanna Pietje, a pedigree Friesian cow in the herd of Mr. T. H. Richards, at Cardiff, Taranaki, and a herd mate of the famous Monavale Queen Bess, 1002 pounds of butterfat. Starting test at the age of 5 years 358 days, Nepean Isolda Johanna Pietje on twice-a-day milking has. just completed a record of 23,001.3 pounds of milk and 828.16 pounds of butterfat. Her monthly returns were:—

From these it will be seen, that she averaged for her first six full months on test (August to January) 84.37 pounds of fat a month and 76.8 pounds of milk a day—an outstanding record. Nepean Isolda Johanna Pietje has

proved herself to be a gilt-edged investment for Mr. Richards, as he purchased her at J. J. Walker’s dispersal sale in 1927 for 30 guineas, a ridiculously low price for a cow of such outstanding productive ability. Mr. Walker is now a resident of Tokoroa. The butterfat from the cow in her year’s record, valued at Is 6d, totals over £62, and if we take Mr. P. O. Veale’s figures that milk with a 3.6 per cent, test yields about 2.7 pounds of cheese per pound of fat, she produced the equivalent of 223 Q pounds of cheese for the year, which at 9d per pound gives a total value of £B3 17s. As regards the feeding received by Nepean Isolda Johanna Pietje while on. test, the following extract from a letter received from Mr. Richards will show what supplementary feed was used:— “ After calving, I gave her a run on green oats for a couple of hours a day and a little bran and a concentrate. That lasted for about three months and then she just had constant changes of good grass, always with the bran and concentrate. I might add that she never once during her test had more than four pounds of bran and two pounds of concentrate a day, and in the autumn I gave her a box of pulped turnips and also an hour or so on green oats.”

' Month. Lbs. Milk. Lbs. Fat July (15 days) 944.1 33.51 August 2289.3 82.64 September 2534.8 93.53 October 2660.6 87.79 November 2239.7 83.76 December 2301.9 81.71 January 2110.1 76.80 February 1777.9 61.33 March . . 1692.3 59.90 April 1740.2 63.34 May 1530.1 59.36 June 955.6 36.02 July (15 days) 224.7 8.47 23001.3 828.16